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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25493572">Everyone Needs a Hobby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimSylphie/pseuds/GrimSylphie'>GrimSylphie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, M/M, Mentions of Booker - Freeform, Slice of Life, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:29:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25493572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimSylphie/pseuds/GrimSylphie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The team tells Nile about some of their hobbies and things they do to make their long lives enjoyable.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>304</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Everyone Needs a Hobby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote a fic where I mentioned a headcanon that Joe does restoration work at various museums because he would be able to find (or in some cases saved) the appropriate supplies and recreate the techniques used hundreds of years back. In this fic I really wanted to go into the hobbies the other have taken up to keep themselves occupied between jobs.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“The easiest way to find happiness during our long lives is to find places and things that bring you joy and go there or do them.” Nicky explained to Nile before picking up an olive and putting it in Joe’s waiting mouth.</p><p>They were at a villa in the Italian countryside, one of many homes across the world that the immortals were able to obtain over the years. Joe had set out a plate of cheese, cured meats, and other Mediterranean staples and now was laying with his head in Nicky’s lap eating whatever Nicky offered from his hand. It was domestic, it was romantic, and Nile was pretty sure it had Andy five minutes away from throwing her wine at them.</p><p>“The secret to finding happiness is learning new things, helping people, anything to find a purpose.” Joe added. </p><p>Nile looked at Andy to see if she had something to add but she just shrugged. </p><p>“Ah, our Andromache’s purpose has always been as a fighter.” Nicky mentioned upon seeing the looks the two women shared. </p><p>Joe turned his head towards Nile, a wry smirk forming on his lips. “Don’t let her fool you Nile, she likes to act all mysterious but Booker found out she reviews every bakery she visits.”</p><p>Nile smiles. “Like a foodie blog?”</p><p>Nicky picked up the story. It was something he and Joe did often. “Our Andy isn’t much of one for technology. Booker, however has compiled them all on one of those review sites.”</p><p>Andy rolled her eyes. “Why do I keep the two of you around?” </p><p>“Because it would be a long and extremely boring life without us.” Joe winked at Nile before turning to snatch a piece of prosciutto from Nicky’s hand.</p><p>“What about you guys? What do you do?” Nile asked. </p><p>“They are disgustingly domestic and have sex far more than anyone. Immortal or not has a right to have.” Andy chimed in, returning Joe’s wink with one of her own.</p><p>“Don’t listen to her. Joe and I have plenty of hobbies.” Nicky corrected, running his free hand through Joe’s hair while grabbing a slice of cheese. </p><p>Joe took the cheese and chewed it rapidly, picking up for Nicky the moment he had swallowed it. “Nile, did you know my brilliant Nicoló is a scholar? He teaches philosophy as it connects to religion and shows his students that while the legends and specific rules are different that most religions share some core beliefs regarding right and wrong, good and evil. He teaches people to understand each other and bridges gaps that we ourselves learned to bridge nearly a millennia ago.”</p><p>Nicky blushes a bit. “I don’t know about that but I am invited as a guest lecturer to different universities now and again.”</p><p>“Wow, that’s amazing, Nicky!” Nile commented. She hadn’t expected something like that given how quiet Nicky came across. She remembered how much he had helped her with her own crisis of faith given her immortality. It made sense he would do that for so many other people. </p><p>“It’s nothing. I’m just happy if I can make a few people understand what I have come to learn. Yusuf here has been maintaining what seems like half of the world’s artwork for the past millennia.” Nicky explained, just as eager as Joe to share his lover’s talents. </p><p>“Nicolo, it’s nothing that impressive.” Joe protested. “I’m contracted from time to time to restore pieces from the twelfth century onward. I specialize in works from my my homeland and the surrounding areas up until the fourteenth century but I also receive a lot of requests to restore paintings from the Italian Renaissance since a lot of people struggle to get the correct balance when mixing paints or making suitable brushes. Little do they know I have a leg up given how much time we spent there.” Joe winked at Nile this time.</p><p>Nile was fascinated. She hadn’t considered being able to pursue a whole separate career in her down time. She was sure given Andy’s concerns about being found that there were a lot of hoops to jump through to maintain safety and secrecy. Still, the chance to go to school for something or develop new talents was beyond exciting.</p><p>It was so exciting that she forgot the elephant in the room for a moment. “What does Booker do?” She asked before realizing her mistake when everyone’s smiles faltered for a moment.</p><p>Fortunately Joe seemed to regain himself quickly. “Ahh, our Booker is a special one. He has a number of things he does to keep himself busy. It’s the only thing that seems to keep him sane. Or so we thought.” There was still a bit of hurt in his voice. The betrayal still fresh in their minds.</p><p>“Booker taught himself and the rest of us how to use computers. He became a rather talented hacker.” Nicky explained.</p><p>“That was more for work though.” Andy explained. “The times were changing and the rest of us were a bit slower to catch up. Booker works as an editor and speechwriter. He was a scathing critic for a while but the people he wrote about challenged him to do better.”</p><p>Joe smirked. “And he did! Book’s brilliant when he isn’t pickling his mind!” </p><p>They were proud of him. Even after every thing he did, even after they exiled him, they acted like proud parents gloating about how brilliant he was. She couldn’t help but smile. This was the sort of unwavering bond she wanted from a team. Even when apart they still cared for him. </p><p>Nicky, empathetic as always, seemed to pick up on her thoughts. “Nile, we’re a family and you’re part of that now. We’ll support you in any way we can. We failed to support Booker and make it clear he could talk to us, yet he failed us too. If he really wanted to end his life he could have gone alone but he dragged us all in and nearly got us in a situation we can’t get out of.” </p><p>Joe chimed in. “We still love him but he needs some time to reflect on his choices and experience the world on his own for more than the brief month or year or two we’ve split up for.” </p><p>Andy broke the tension. “This has gotten depressing. This was supposed to be about you Nile, think about what you want to do. There’s a whole world out there and you have more time than most people get to see what you want to do with it.” </p><p>“I will.” She promised feeling excited about the new life before her in a way she hadn’t expected.</p>
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